A beginner’s guide to Indian names

Tips to recognise what the common ones mean

To the unacquainted, Indian names can seem daunting. They can be long — particularly South Indian ones, and often some sort of incomprehensible tongue twister.

The keen observer will, however, note some patterns amongst them. Certain syllables and words re-appear over and over again in different permutations and combinations.

This post examines some of the more common ones (that also seem overwhelming) thereby helping demystify the garble — giving you an appreciation of the beauty they contain

Here are ~12 sounds you see appearing over and over again:

• Raj. This has got to be the most common Indian name in general. On its own, it simply means “King”, but when combined with other syllables, it means “King of”. Examples include Nagaraj, Rajendra, and Rajesh
• Kumar. Second only to Raj, Kumar means prince (and Kumari being the feminine). Unsurprising that these two feature so prominently amongst baby names.
• Esh. Is perhaps the most common sound buried amongst Indian names, it means “Lord”. Rajesh (lord of kings), Rakesh (lord of the night), Ramesh (Lord Ram — with Ram himself being a god), Dinesh (lord of the day/sun), Ganesh (lord of the masses), Mahesh (great lord), Mukesh (lord over a demon named Muka), and so on
• Deep. It refers to a lamp — which is a key item used in rituals but is also a symbol of light and knowledge (over darkness and ignorance). Names containing this include Sandeep (lamp of the day), Deepak or Deepa (lamp), Mandeep (lamp of the mind), and Navdeep (new light)
• Jaya. It means “victory”. You often see it embedded in names such as Sanjay, Vijay, Jayakumar, or Jayasurya
• Ratnam. It means jewel or ruby. I’ve seen it embedded in Rajaratnam, Selvaratnam, Sivaratnam, and many others
• Nathan. Meaning “controller”, you see it in names like Viswanathan, and Ramanathan
• Endra. Meaning “chief”, you see it in names like Rajendra, Mahendra, Surendra, and so on
• Bala. Meaning “young”, you see it in Balakrishna, Balasubramanium, and many others
• Lingam. It’s a common…